I think that this may vary by state, but I'm not entirely sure. I know that we can put suspension on a BIP. We are allowed to out of school suspend a child for up to 10 days before we need to consider a change of placement. Students with behaviors related to their disability may receive in school suspensions as well (I don't believe that there is any law limiting these, but I could be wrong).

In school suspensions still count as time out of placement in Texas. The legal aspect of punishing for a manifestation of a disability is always a sticky issue, but the student has to learn to get things under control before going out into a world that doesn't make special allowances for disability. Assault is assault, being late is being late, and arguing with a boss, customer, or coworker will get you fired.

To address your question: We put limited in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, alternative school, and sometimes even citations in the BIP as consequences. We still have to do an MDR before sending the student to alternative.

The main reason manifisation determination was put in place is to ensure that a student won't continue in a program that isn't working for the student such that this program allows the student to not receive an education because the student is continually removed from school. IT IS NOT intended to appease parents or the student.

The reason for special education is to improve skills to the point where the person is indpendent and self-sufficient as possible. If the situation the student is in continually results in suspensions (10 or more days per school year) then the program is not sufficient to be addressing the underlying needs of the student.

As it turns out, repeated or long-term suspensions, if a result of the disability, show they IEP for the student and the services are not doing what they are intended to do or haven't addressed issues that need to be addressed.

I'm not sure what you would want put in a BIP, but IF the suspension was related to the disability, the IEP, BIP, or placement should be changed to addresss the issues leading to the suspension.

Too many focus on the end goal instead of the small steps that are needed to be learned to get to the end goal. Yes, in the world there will be some behaviors that need to be mastered, but just as you wouldn't punish a 18 month old who couldn't unbutton her pants to pull them down to go potty you can't always punish the student that hasn't yet mastered the sub-skills to move the student toward the end goal. Sometimes the environment needs to change, as well as, additional instruction in other areas. For the 18 month old, elastic waist pants and instructions on learning how to unbutton and unzip (which will be a long way away) would both be needed to get the child to indepenence. Or you could just keep punishing because some day the child will have to be able to do those things on her own. This may sound really silly, but in many cases, this is exactly what we do with students with disabilities of all sorts. We find the easiest way (punish) to try to solve problems that won't be solved by punishing. While the 18 month old may eventually learn along the way to master the sub skills, think of the toll being punished over and over will bring. I expect it will bring on a whole host of additional behavior issues with the child. Yet, the system does this to students all the time.

M D is not to appease and not address the issue. It is a STOP GAP so that an unworking system doesn't continue.

If the end result of the behaivor is suspension, BIP or not, what would be the point of putting it in the BIP? Is this a way to get around MDR meetings? Is this a way to sanction continual suspensions for the manifestation of the disability that is not being properly addressed?

(1) Within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a
code of student conduct, the LEA, the parent, and relevant members of the child’s IEP Team (as determined by the parent
and the LEA) must review all relevant information in the student’s file, including the child’s IEP, any teacher observations, and any relevant information provided by the parents to determine--
(i) If the conduct in question was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to, the child’s disability; or
(ii) If the conduct in question was the direct result of the LEA’s failure to implement the IEP.
(2) The conduct must be determined to be a manifestation of the child’s disability if the LEA, the parent, and relevant members of the child’s IEP Team determine that a condition in either paragraph (e)(1)(i) or (1)(ii) of this section was met.
(3) If the LEA, the parent, and relevant members of the child’s IEP Team determine the condition described in paragraph (e)(1)(ii) of this section was met, the LEA must take immediate steps to remedy those deficiencies.
(f) Determination that behavior was a manifestation. If the LEA, the parent, and relevant members of the IEP Team make the determination that the conduct was a manifestation of the child’s disability, the IEP Team must--
(1) Either-–
(i) Conduct a functional behavioral assessment, unless the LEA had conducted a functional behavioral assessment before the behavior that resulted in the change of placement occurred, and implement a behavioral intervention plan
for the child; or
(ii) If a behavioral intervention plan already has been developed, review the behavioral intervention plan, and modify it, as necessary, to address the behavior; and
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (g) of this section, return the child to the placement from which the child was removed, unless the parent and the LEA agree to a change of placement as part of the modification of the behavioral intervention plan.
(g) Special circumstances. School personnel may remove a student to an interim alternative educational setting for not more
than 45 school days without regard to whether the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the child’s disability, if the
child--
(1) Carries a weapon to or possesses a weapon at school, on school premises, or to or at a school function under the jurisdiction of an SEA or an LEA;
(2) Knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs, or sells or solicits the sale of a controlled substance, while at school, on school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of an SEA or an LEA; or
(3) Has inflicted serious bodily injury upon another person while at school, on school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of an SEA or an LEA.
(h) Notification. On the date on which the decision is made to make a removal that constitutes a change of placement of a
child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct, the LEA must notify the parents of that decision, and provide the parents the procedural safeguards notice described in §300.504.
(i) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Controlled substance means a drug or other substance identified under schedules I, II, III, IV, or V in section 202(c)
of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)).
(2) Illegal drug means a controlled substance; but does not include a controlled substance that is legally possessed or
used under the supervision of a licensed health-care professional or that is legally possessed or used under any other authority under that Act or under any other provision of Federal law.
(3) Serious bodily injury has the meaning given the term “serious bodily injury” under paragraph (3) of subsection (h) of section 1365 of title 18, United States Code.
(4) Weapon has the meaning given the term “dangerous weapon” under paragraph (2) of the first subsection (g) of section 930 of title 18, United States Code. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1415(k)(1) and (7))

But remember, BIPs can be written for any student. So, a BIP for a student without a disability may look very different from one that is for a student with a disability and the disability is at the root of the behaviors. Therefore a generic system for BIP creation will have options that may not apply for students with disabilities.

BIPs should be designed not to control behavior but to modify the students motivation and understanding so that the student learns different ways to approach situations so that the behavior doesn't happen.